I love a summer garden party — really, I love any excuse to throw a party but gorgeous summer weather, BBQ food, and a theme of flowers is one of my favourite excuses. Matt and I host an annual summer garden party for all of our friends; it’s one last hurrah before everyone disappears on summer vacation in August. We hosted our party last week and though most of our friends had serious headaches the next day, everyone had a good time. Any gathering of friends is cause for celebration but if you want to really make your event special, here are some tricks I’ve picked up over the years:

Choose the right invitations.

An invitation sets the mood of the party -- and gets your guests excited about coming to your event (this is the one I sent out for our garden party). Obviously it's important to include all of the relevant information (date, time, attire - if necessary), but don't forget to include your Instagram info or hashtag (for example: #MarissaGardenParty) so that you can look at everyone’s pictures after the event (sort of like a shared photo album). Just make sure that your hashtag is unique enough so that it doesn’t bring up everyone else’s garden party!

Tip: I have a box where I keep invitations that I love -- so I can copy them in the future!

Get playful with your guests.

Garden games are not essential for a party but why not add a little MORE fun to your event? Everyone loves to get silly and play -- and often after a few cocktails, competition gets fierce! I love giant jenga games and Tic Tac Toe (see pic). And if you really want to have some fun with it, pick up a plastic crown for the winner of the games.

Play dress up.

I’m sort of a novelty sunglasses addict. It’s true. I have novelty sunglasses for every holiday and season. My toddler LOVES playing with them -- they're great for dress up in my closet while I’m trying to get ready in the morning -- but they're also perfect dinner party props to leave on the table. So over the years I’ve amassed a fairly impressive collection. At a party, I love filling a "prop box" with silly hats and novelty sunglasses. You know how you always have fun at a costume party -- this is sort of like a costume party in a box -- so if your guests are feeling playful, they can add to the festivity of it all and pick a costume. And as Instagram seems to be taking over (maybe it is just my life?) I’ve noticed my friends love the opportunity to dress up for a photo op!

Don't go overboard on decorations.

A garden party is really all about the garden, so you can keep decorations simple. Lots of flowers, twinkling lights, and bunting. Bunting is a very British thing; I actually hadn’t really discovered it until I moved here but now I can’t get enough of it as it makes a garden party feel sweet and cozy while adding pops of colour. In America, bunting is called "pennant banners." You can blow your budget and get fabric pennant that will last you summer after summer or just go simple (and easy on the wallet) with plastic.

Serve the right kind of food.

With any party, food is VERY important. I love to serve a mix of colourful salads and BBQ at my garden party. Since a garden party should be a casual comfortable affair, a buffet usually works best. I love a chalkboard menu to explain the salads as it also acts as a bit of decoration for the buffet table. And the best part is these decorations are reusable and you can use them at any of your parties; they also double as excellent kiddie toys!

Born and raised in Orange County, California, Marissa worked in New York City, where she launched several fashion, luxury, restaurant, and nightlife brands. She met Matt Hermer, a British restaurateur and nightclub owner, while in the city and relocated to London in 2008 to be with him. Now married, the couple has two sons together. Marissa uses her own luxury public relations and brand management expertise to grow the family businesses, including Eclipse Bars, Bumpkin restaurants, and Boujis nightclubs.

She's currently writing a British food cookbook, launching a children’s party program at Bumpkin, planning the annual Boujis Summer Party, and finalizing plans for an American-concept restaurant, which will open in London and other European cities this fall. Her sons, Max and Jake, keep her busy in Hyde Park, and often accompany her to Bumpkin food tastings; they are the official tasters of the Bumpkin kids' menu!